Terumo Europe is an affiliate of Terumo Corporation Japan, a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products including market-leading catheters and guidewires used by Interventional Radiologists. Under the terms of the agreement, Terumo will be the exclusive distributor for the DC BeadTM and PRECISION BeadTM products, serving the interventional radiology market in Europe, Israel and North Africa for a period of four years. Terumo has distributed the Company's Bead BlockTM product since 2003.
Terumo Europe's turnover for the financial year ended March 2006 was €250m. This Group is a market leader in the interventional radiology field with a reputation for high quality, high performance products. The DC Bead product will be launched later this year, following positive customer response to the pre-marketing evaluation, performed in 2005. The launch of the PRECISION Bead product is targeted for 2007.
Data presented from the PRECISION I and PRECISION II trials in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) have demonstrated favourable pharmacokinetics, a better safety profile and a greater tumour response in relation to the standard therapy.
Commenting on the agreement, Crispin Simon, Chief Executive of Biocompatibles said: "I am pleased that we will be continuing to work with our friends at Terumo on these products. Terumo have great sales people and I am looking forward to supporting their efforts."
Hideo Arase, Terumo Interventional Systems, added: "I am also satisfied with this agreement. Biocompatibles has made a big investment in this product line and the clinical data. The Terumo Europe Interventional Systems team will make further efforts to establish PRECISION TACE as the standard of care. Our aim is to take a leading position in Embolotherapy."
Contact
Biocompatibles: +44 1252 732732 - Crispin Simon, Chief Executive - Ian Ardill, Finance Director
Terumo Europe: +33 1 39 30 95 77 - Nori Kunimoto, Terumo Europe Interventional Systems
Biocompatibles International plc
Biocompatibles International plc is the medical technology company focused on drug device Combination Products for use in oncology and cardiology. The Company's proprietary biomedical polymer systems provide medical devices with enhanced biocompatibility and offer a platform for drug delivery. Further information is available at www.biocompatibles.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Biocompatibles' current expectation regarding future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of Biocompatibles' development plans, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the uncertainties related to the regulatory process and the effectiveness of commercialisation plans.
Terumo Corporation
Terumo Corporation, (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Japan; CEO Takashi Wachi; www.terumo.com) is a leading manufacturer of single-use medical devices, such as syringes, hypodermic needles, blood bags and IV solutions. Terumo has the biggest share of the world markets for angiography guide wires and perfusion products and is a leading developer of interventional products, such as catheters and stents. Terumo Corporation, the parent company of Terumo Europe N.V., is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Market.
Notes to Editors: Glossary of Terms
Conventional TACE: Trans-Arterial Chemo-Embolisation : a procedure whereby a chemotherapeutic agent is mixed into a slurry and injected via a catheter, locally at a tumour site.
DC Bead: Biocompatibles' proprietary bead product developed for the treatment of malignant hypervascularised tumours. This product received CE Mark regulatory approval in June 2003 with instructions for loading with doxorubicin.
LC Bead: Biocompatibles' proprietary bead product developed for the treatment of malignant hypervascularised tumours.
PRECISION Bead: Biocompatibles' proprietary bead product developed for the treatment of malignant hypervascularised tumours. This product contains doxorubicin.
PRECISION TACE: The use of either PRECISION Bead or DC Bead in the TACE procedure. PRECISION TACE results in a lower systemic drug exposure and more drug at the tumour site.
Doxorubicin: A widely used chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of a large number of cancers. It is a powerful cytotoxic drug that is not cell cycle specific.
HCC: Hepatocellular Carcinoma, primary tumour of the liver.
PRECISION Clinical Trials: A family of clinical trials sponsored by Biocompatibles for the evaluation of the Drug Eluting Beads with Doxorubicin.
